A lottery fraud case is set for settlement in the US and players could be refunded

The USA’s largest lottery fraud case is nearing its end. A multi-million-dollar settlement is set to be approved.In what was the largest lottery fraud case in US lottery history, a former employee at the Multi-State Lottery Association was found to have rigged a random number generator. Eddie Tipton rigged the generator for several Hot Lotto drawings.

Fraudulently claiming lottery jackpot prizes

This allowed Mr Tipton and his associate to correctly predict the winning numbers. Their deceit guaranteed them jackpot prizes.The lottery fraud case was discovered several years ago by a lottery auditor called Rob Sand. He found out that the rigging had taken place across several different Hot Lotto drawings in several different states.

Lottery players are set to have their tickets refunded

Lottery officials are now close to agreeing a final settlement for thousands of lottery players who took place in the rigged drawings. A fund of $4.3 million would be earmarked for a lottery pay-out to refund tickets purchased.The settlement will also pay for attorney fees related to the case. A judge is set to approve the agreement within the next few weeks.

Lottery fraudster is jailed

Mr Tipton was sentenced to up to 25 years of imprisonment after being convicted of fraud and tampering. One of his associates, who won a $783,000 jackpot in Wisconsin, plead guilty and testified against him.To date, $2.2 million of fraudulent lottery winnings have been ordered to be repaid. The Iowa Lottery issued a statement recently to give thanks for the work carried out by lottery officials.“The work by lottery officials was instrumental in arriving at the point where there can be a settlement for affected players,” the statement said. Once it is approved, a website will be set up to allow affected players to submit claims to the settlement.